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Air Canada joins Canadian biojet supply chain initiative

Canada’s “flag” carrier Air Canada has announced it will participate in Canada’s Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI), a three-year collaborative project with 14 stakeholder organisations to introduce sustainable aviation biofuel (biojet) into a shared fuel system at a yet to be determined Canadian airport. The country’s largest domestic and international airline, previous Air Canada biofuel flights used biojet that was segregated and loaded separately into an aircraft via tanker truck. By contrast, CBSCI’s objective is to start developing a more efficient operational framework that will introduce biojet into a multi-user, co-mingled airport fuel supply system.

– We are pleased to support this important initiative by facilitating the logistics involved in the introduction of biojet to an airport’s shared fuel system. Air Canada has invested billions of dollars in fleet renewal to reduce our fuel consumption and biojet holds the potential to be an important part of our strategy for achieving our longer-term industry goals of carbon neutral growth from 2020 and a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, relative to 2005 levels, said Teresa Ehman, Director Environmental Affairs at Air Canada.

The CBSCI project is a first in Canada and is aimed at creating a sustainable Canadian supply chain of biojet using renewable feedstock. The biojet used in the project will be sourced from commercially available, certifiably sustainable Canadian oleo-chemical feedstock using the Hydroprocessed Esters and a Fatty Acids (HEFA) conversion process. The biojet will be blended with petroleum jet fuel to meet all technical quality specifications before being introduced into a shared fuel tank at a Canadian airport. Some 400 000 litres of blended biofuel is expected to be introduced. The project includes a strong research component with the participation of several Canadian universities.